Hockey is a business; a relentless and unforgiving entity that makes it easy to forget there are emotions and families impacted by decisions made.

And, up until Wednesday afternoon, Michael Stone had been in limbo for the past six weeks.

After being bought out by the Calgary Flames on Aug. 2 — a decision that was largely impacted by the salary cap and general manager Brad Treliving’s list of unsigned restricted free agents — the 29-year-old right-shot defenceman was signed to a one-year contract worth US$700,000.

That means Stone and his family — wife Michelle, their three-year-old twins Jolie and Wyatt, and 17-month-old son Rhett — can stay put this season.

“You’re not really sure where you were going to be living come training camp,” Stone was saying, a day before the Flames opened their 2019-20 NHL training camp. “To not have to pack up the family and go somewhere… I’m happy to be staying.

“I still believe in this team, I still think we can do some good things and I am excited to be a part of that.”

So, the Flames bought out Stone only to … re-sign him? Yes, you’ve got that right.

While it’s a confusing situation, the (new) contract makes sense.

The Flames are familiar with Stone, having acquired the former Calgary Hitmen defenceman prior to the 2017 NHL trade deadline in a deal with the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2017 draft.

And, rather than looking elsewhere to fill the sudden vacancy left by Juuso Valimaki — who recently had surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, an injury suffered while off-season training — Treliving just checked his Contacts list on his iPhone.

Travis Hamonic, Andersson, and Stone are the only natural righties currently in the team’s system at the NHL level. Alexander Yelesin was signed out of the KHL this spring and also shoots right but it’s unknown how his skills will translate into the NHL. Former Edmonton Oilers defenceman Eric Gryba is in Calgary on a professional tryout offer and is also a righty.

The left-shooting TJ Brodie plays on the right side on the team’s top pairing with Mark Giordano but Andersson could challenge for that spot this fall. Meaning that if they wanted to play Brodie on his natural side, Stone could slide in that role easily.

At the end of the day, however, Stone has another shot — although he feels for Valimaki, who is now on the mend.

“I’ve been through the same injury that he had and it is not a lot of fun,” Stone said. “I don’t wish that upon anybody.

“But that being said, it opened up a door for me and I’m hoping to make the most of that.”

It might take a mathematician for this next part.

Faced with a salary crunch at the start of this off-season — and with the impending contracts of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, David Rittich and Andrew Mangiapane soon to be on the books — Treliving needed some cap space.

There was only one year remaining on Stone’s three-year pact worth US$3.5-million in cap space per season, which saved them US$2.33-million in cap space and only put Stone on the books for US$1.167-million for 2019-20 and 2020-21.

So, with his $700,000 deal, he’ll only count $1.867 towards Calgary’s cap hit this season. Meanwhile, the Flames know they can safely plug-and-play Stone as necessary as he adds to their depth on the right side.

Attitude is everything and Stone never complained, sulked or brushed off the chance to have a casual conversation, even as a healthy scratch night after night.

“I try to carry myself the right way, every day,” he said. “No matter who that is. Teammates, other staff, or (the media), or someone I just saw at the grocery store. Hockey-wise, it was a tough year last year. I tried to keep as positive of an outlook on it as I could, given the situation I was in.

“Then, obviously, the buyout happening, not knowing where I was going to be … I’m happy that things worked out the way I did.”

But earlier this summer, Stone could see the writing on the wall.

“You understand it’s a possibility,” he said. “You don’t want it to come to that. I don’t think it changes the way the staff felt about me as a player or as a person. At least, that’s the way you have to approach it. I mean, I’m back here so I must have been doing something right.

“It was a difficult situation and I’m glad to be over and done with it.”

The Winnipeg native had suffered a blood clot this past winter and, by the time he returned to the lineup, fellow righty Rasmus Andersson had surpassed him on the depth chart. In the end, he only dressed for 14 regular-season games in 2018-19, which turned into a forgettable season in the end.

Stone is motivated to turn over a new leaf with his old team.

“I don’t think being bought out factored into that — I only played 14 games last year,” Stone said. “And I was watching a playoff series I wanted to be a part of. I don’t think me being bought out changed the excitement or drive that I would have for this season. I’ve done enough watching, I’m ready to play. It was a longer summer than a lot of guys wanted and I feel the same way.